Question

The first time I walked into the recruiting office, there was a sergeant sitting behind the desk. He asked me what I wanted and I said I would like to enlist in the army. And he said, “Well, we don't have any quotas for you people.” With that he went back to what he was doing, writing something on his desk, you know dismissed me as if I was a little mouse or something. And it made me very angry and when I walked out the door I swore I wasn't coming back, I wouldn't do that anymore. But as things went on, I wasn't working. I didn't have a job. I was living with my sister and it kind of rankled me that I needed to support myself. So, I swallowed my pride and I went back to the recruiting office. And this time, there was a different soldier sitting behind the desk and he asked me if he could help me. And I said, “Yes, I'd like to enlist in the army.” And he said, “Well come right in and sit down,” and I ended up at Camp Waters, Texas, in the infantry. We were in a segregated platoon in a white company, OCS class number 148. And it was the same old thing. We were in separate barracks, separated from everybody, except when we went to class. That was normal for us, that's the way it always had been. And being a black man, you had to accept it.

–Vernon J. BakerWhich of the following statements best describes how Baker felt about the segregation he experienced in officer training?

He was angry and wanted to quit.

He felt it was “normal” and something to be expected.

He believed it to be unfair, and he worked to end it in his unit.

Answer 1

He felt it was “normal” and something to be expected.

Evidence: Baker says “That was normal for us… that's the way it always had been. And being a black man, you had to accept it,” indicating acceptance rather than active resistance.